Quench your thirst for knowledge, gain new insights, become a good teacher and lay the foundations for an academic career - there are many reasons to do a doctorate. Two doctoral candidates from Computing Science show how it's done.
Computers, data processing and analysis: even in his youth, Nils-Steffen Worzyk was fascinated by technology and automatic processes. He has been studying Computing Science in Oldenburg since 2010. First in the Bachelor's, then in the Master's, now in the graduate programme "System Correctness under Adverse Conditions" (SCARE). He is currently researching self-learning machines in Prof Dr Oliver Kramer's "Computational Intelligence" working group at the Department of Computing Science. What drives him? "I want to know, for example, how areas of public life can be made safer for people," says Worzyk.
Because wherever new technologies come into play, new dangers also lurk. For example, artificial intelligence (AI), which can be manipulated in a targeted manner - for example in autonomous cars. Where there is actually a stop sign, the vehicle suddenly recognises a right of way sign and accidents occur. In his doctoral thesis, Worzyk is researching suitable methods to recognise and prevent such manipulations. "I'm on the leading edge of gaining knowledge, which is great," says the 27-year-old happily.
Exchange at eye level
The doctorate not only quenches his thirst for knowledge, but also gives him the opportunity to develop many other skills. Worzyk was the student spokesperson for SCARE and supervises Master's theses. This has not only trained his organisational skills, but also his critical faculties. "I try not only to say what can be improved, but also how this can be done. That is my own aspiration and the students tell me that they learn a lot from it," he says. He has also been able to improve his ability to present his science clearly and coherently, for example in seminars or at conferences. Specialist conferences, especially international ones, are a highlight for him: "As a doctoral candidate, I really appreciate the exchange with more experienced scientists. It's not about personal vanity, but about the subject matter. It's great to work together," says Worzyk.
Passing on his knowledge to young people is particularly important to him. "A doctorate is a good basis for such teaching activities," he says. The extent to which he will teach in the future naturally also depends on the further course of his academic career: "I hope to be able to defend my doctoral thesis in April or May. After that, I would like to continue my research abroad, because unfortunately there are very few permanent jobs in science in Germany."
The logical next step
Jonas Prellberg, another doctoral candidate in Kramer's research group, is not yet thinking about such things. He will complete his doctorate at the end of the year. Like Worzyk, he was already at the University of Oldenburg before starting his doctorate, where he completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Computing Science. Prellberg was fascinated by computers from an early age and was already programming them himself at the age of 14. However, the 25-year-old did not initially have AI as a research focus on his radar. "That changed with a lecture by Oliver Kramer. After that, I wanted to study it in detail," he says. He then made intelligent image recognition the subject of his Master's thesis, where Kramer supervised him, as he is doing today with his doctorate. As his working group is funded by the German Research Foundation, Prellberg has access to a very good infrastructure.
The doctorate was the logical next step for him to be able to focus even more intensively on the field of research: "I think it's great to expand the knowledge of humanity that exists so far. And I'm learning things that no one has ever recorded before." In his doctorate, he is combining the advantages of deep neural networks and evolutionary algorithms. Deep neural networks analyse large amounts of data and consist of algorithms that, like the human brain, pass on information when certain threshold values are exceeded. They are used, for example, in intelligent image recognition. Evolutionary algorithms optimise problem solutions by randomly changing them through mutation and recombination - similar to what happens in nature. Prellberg uses this process to automatically create deep neural networks.
Research to help
In his research, the young scientist not only deals with the basics of AI, but also applies his knowledge in practice. The doctoral candidate is primarily focussing on medical issues. For example, how computers can use image data to differentiate between healthy and diseased human cells. "Especially in regions where there is no expensive equipment for laboratories, such applications are very useful in detecting cancer. Advances in this field therefore help many affected people significantly," says the Computing Science specialist.
Prellberg is also not only learning new technical skills during his doctorate, but also new methods. For example, he has learnt a special technique for checking his work for gaps. "I prepare my results as early as possible as if I were presenting them in a lecture. I will definitely keep this method, as it gives me lots of new ideas," he says.
For the time after his doctorate, he can imagine doing both: staying in science or going into industry. However, he is already grateful for his time in Oldenburg: "I have great colleagues and I feel very comfortable here. Our doctoral supervisor supports us, provides resources and shows a lot of trust in us. I really appreciate that."
